This invention relates to an excavating shovel and, more particularly, a shovel having a bottom dump bucket.
Bottom dump buckets have been used for many years in excavating--the smaller sizes for back hoes as can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,767,070. The larger size buckets, such as those used on shovels, have used dual pinned hinge arrangements to open and close the front and these have presented difficulties both in construction and operation. Where smaller buckets, as in the '070 patent, are to be enlarged, considerable design change is required.
According to the instant invention, the shovel bucket includes a back section and a front section pivotally related and connected through a torque tube which also serves as the hinge. By virtue of this arrangement, we are able to provide a spatial arrangement which develops efficient digging by virtue of having the moving actuators spaced away from the digging action and while substantially protecting the actuators. Other advantages and objects of the invention may be seen in the details of the ensuing specification.